Houstonians Respond to the Venezuelan Refugees Humanitarian Crisis in Colombia with 40 Tons of Food

Media Contact:

Cristal Montañéz Baylor

cristalmontanezvenezuela@gmail.com

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Houstonians Respond to the Venezuelan Refugees Humanitarian Crisis in Colombia with 40 Tons of Food 

Houstonians Help Alleviate Hunger and Build Peace

Houston, March 1, 2019 – The Rotary e-Club of Houston, through its Hope For Venezuelan Refugees pilot project is helping alleviate hunger and improve malnutrition among vulnerable Venezuelan refugees and ‘caminantes’ (walkers) in Cúcuta and Pamplona through the donation of 20 tons of Rise Against Hunger (RAH) meals. 

Today, Venezuela is a failed state experiencing its worst economic crisis. Venezuelans are struggling to survive in a country with escalating criminal and political violence, and a monthly minimum salary of US $6.70 in an economy suffering from annual inflation approaching 2 million percent. Venezuelans have lost everything - jobs, healthcare, their families, and many have lost their homes. These imploding economic and social collapse has led Venezuelans to leave their crippled country in a massive exodus creating one of the worst refugee crisis in Latin American history. Consequently, more than one million Venezuelans have crossed the border from Venezuela to Colombia. However, the city of Cúcuta and the Metropolitan Area were not prepared to receive this massive migration of people. Many refugees have transited into other Colombian cities or walked to other countries like Ecuador and Peru. Others, referred to as pendulum citizens, enter and leave on the same day. Some people join other family members overcrowding homes, thus increasing these families’ vulnerability and social problems. The rest, which is the vast majority, have increased the high levels of unemployment and informal jobs in the city. Although Colombians have welcomed their Venezuelan neighbors, signs of resentment among jobless local residents are growing.

In response to this humanitarian crisis, two concerned Venezuelan Rotarians in Houston, human freedom activist and former Miss Venezuela Cristal Montañéz, and WaSRAG Ambassador Dr. Isis Mejías, created the Hope For Venezuelan Refugees pilot project to help alleviate hunger and improve malnutrition among vulnerable Venezuelan refugees and ‘caminantes’ (walkers) in Cúcuta and Pamplona. They visited the region, created the project proposal, and put together a coalition of allied organizations to develop the needed logistics 
and successfully implement this project.

The first phase was to send a 40-foot container with 20 tons, 1320 boxes of RAH meals of fortified rice-soybean with dehydrated vegetables enriched with 18 minerals and vitamins. The container departed from the Port of Houston on December 21, 2018, to the Port of Cartagena. 

The container arrived at the Food Bank of the Pastoral Social of the Diocese of Cúcuta on January 17, 2019. From this location, the boxes of RAH meals are distributed weekly to (10) food distribution centers in Cúcuta and four (4) shelters of the Humanitarian Network (Red Humanitaria) on the Cúcuta-Pamplona route already serving hot-meals to the Venezuelan refugees. 

This humanitarian aid pilot project aims to increase the capacity of these food distribution centers by providing 190,080 food rations during eight (8) weeks with the possibility of extending the project to a second phase. Hope For Venezuelan Refugees pilot project is a partnership between the Rotary e-Club of Houston, Rise Against Hunger, Food Bank of the Pastoral Social of the Diocese of Cúcuta, and the Rotary Club of Cúcuta. These organizations joined efforts to implement, facilitate, and manage this pilot project. 

According to Cristal Montañéz Baylor, International Service Committee Rotary e-Club of Houston “The fact remains that food is the most fundamental priority that needs to be addressed in this humanitarian crisis. Local faith organizations and the World Food Program (WFP) have taken the lead in response to this humanitarian crisis. Our donation of 20 tons of RAH meals is helping improve the stage of malnutrition of more than 5,400 Venezuelan refugees per day in 14 food distribution centers located in Cúcuta and Pamplona. Our project helps alleviate hunger and promotes peace.” 

Additionally, “RAH, the Rotary e-Club of Houston and other Rotary Clubs contributed the necessary funds for the acquisition of 20 tons of complementary foods produced locally. These complementary foods are improving the nutritional value and adding diversity of flavor and seasonings to the RAH meals, stimulating the local economy and helping diminish the xenophobia toward the Venezuelan migrant,” said Isis Mejías, Director International Service Committee Rotary e-Club of Houston. 

Thanks to the generous contribution of the participating organizations, the Hope For Venezuelan Refugees pilot project is able to provide an additional 1,700 meals per day in the form of breakfast and dinner in the four (4) shelters in the Cúcuta-Pamplona route.

Among the contributing Rotary Clubs are: Rotary of Club Humble Intercontinental, Rotary Club of Brazosport, Rotary Club of El Campo, Rotary Club of Highlands, Rotary Club of Baytown, Rotary Club of Gulfway Hobby, Rotary Club of Katy, Rotary Club of West University, Rotary Club of Memorial Spring Branch, Rotary Club of El Paso Camino Real, Rotary Club of Calgary, Rotary Club of Somerset, Rotary Club of Cúcuta, and Rotary e-Club of Houston.

Links:

Blog https://hopeforvenezuelanrefugees.blogspot.com/
Instagram @eclubhouston

Carga del contenedor con alimentos RAH en Houston para enviar a Cúcuta
https://flic.kr/s/aHskS4mJjo

Descargue del contenedor con alimentos RAH al Banco de Alimentos de la Diócesis de Cúcuta
https://www.flickr.com/gp/64484371@N03/v4ud85

D-1 Fundación Nueva Vida Olla Comunitaria
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmAGX1JZ

D-2 Comedor Sagrada Familia
https://flic.kr/s/aHskNHF6p6

D-3 Foundation Servidores Madres por los Abandonados en las Calles
https://flic.kr/s/aHskRQxMD5

D-6 Comedor Santo Domingo Savio
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmAUKY47

D-7 Centro de Migraciones
https://flic.kr/s/aHskS3KZmN

D-8 Comedor Maria Madre del Inmigrante
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmAH3vWg


D-9 Comedor San Judas Tadeo
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm9S4T34

D-10 Fundación Nueva Vida
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmvFNQgJ


RH-1 FUNDAR 1 Pamplona

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmymBYFv

RH-2 Casa de Paso/Albergue Medical Duarte y Red Humanitaria (La Chirimoya)
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmAUD9ky

RH-3 Hogar de Paso/Albergue Marta Duque
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmvD77k1

RH-4 FUNDAR 2
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmyAgm98

Isis Mejías en Cúcuta y Pamplona
https://flic.kr/s/aHsma6NY6B

Cristal Montanez en Cúcuta y Pamplona
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmATnfWP

Bear Hugs for Venezuela- Cúcuta y Pamplona
https://flic.kr/s/aHskNJ26e6

Reuniones Club Rotario de Cúcuta

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmywSfUz

Reunión con la Diócesis de Cúcuta
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm9NTXfv